Metalheads donate to children’s hospital with 11 bands to raise money and toy donations for sick children. I can tell you from first-hand experience that being confined to the hospital isn’t easy for anyone, let alone children who are meant to enjoy life outside on the playground but due to diseases and illness are stuck in the hospital for days, weeks and months on end.
The benefit took toy donations and held a silent art auction to help make it a little bit easier for INOVA’s littlest patients. With so much poking and prodding during treatments, the donated toys are to help distract them.
In a brief conversation from the leading lady of Metal Teresa Productions, I learned that she was given toys for her benefit shows and after calling around to different shelters (who had an abundance of toys already) that her best option was the INOVA’s littlest cancer patients.
They ended up with a truck full of toys – 5 huge containers and a wagon full to be exact and raised $1253 throughout the night. We were thrilled to be on the other side and donate 2 little guitars for the next musician in the making and win one of the art pieces in the silent auction. We were running a bit behind on time and missed the first band (insert sad face) but managed to stick around for the rest of them.
But we aren’t going to leave them out! Max Redding & the Dogwood Gospel is a hard-driving energetic blend of Americana, alt-country, and hard rock hailing from Furnace Mountain, Virginia.
I was so excited to see One Slack Mind again! Formed in 1999, One Slack Mind is a thick, detuned, body shot to the solar plexus doubling you over with the gravity of its nasty riffs and original hooks. One Slack Mind, comprised of several DC rock veterans distributing their music to the glassy-eyed masses – if you haven’t seen the interview I did, you can check that out here!
Spiral Grave gave me a bit of the feel of the 80’s I adore so much. Spiral Grave is the collaboration of the members of two legendary mid-Atlantic bands: Iron Man, who disbanded in early 2018 following the death of their guitarist and founder Al Morris III, and Lord.
Rat Infested was a new to me band, who consider themselves a Crossover Thrash band.
Another new to me was Gravity Kong, and I really enjoyed their set – these guys consider themselves southern metal with a bit of a twist on the hardcore.
And I may become a sort of a bit of a fan of these guys from Ghost Logic! You can check out our interview here I did some time ago!
Shumaun took me by surprise that’s for sure. The band is a hard rock for people who love the sounds of intricate rhythm sections, progressive inspired guitars, colorful synths, and melodic vocals.
Ashes of Everest is death metal, thrash metal from Front Royal – Berryville Virginia. Another band that has made it onto my playlist for sure.
Noxious out of Fredricksburg, VA brought it to the show with their death metal.
Spiral Fracture brought their killer sound to the show. I snagged an interview with them when they came to Charlottesville a few months back. I absolutely love these guys. Amanda’s voice brings something amazing to the sound of their music.
Since their formation in 2003, Martinsburg, West Virginia’s Dysfigure have developed into one of the heaviest underground metal bands in the Mid-Atlantic.
